Tabaquismo: reconocerlo y reeducarse

Smoking is one of the most harmful and damaging addictions, and any purpose of abandonment goes through two basic concepts: recognizing the habit and re-educating oneself to start a new life.

“When you decide to stop smoking, you must be convinced of when you start and that you really want to do it“, says Dr Laura Enciso, Psychologist.

Smoking is one of the greatest threats to public health, and it is estimated that more than eight million people worldwide die each year from direct or indirect habit-related causes. It is not only our health but that of those around us.

Quitting smoking is one of the therapies that need more patient involvement. Without their will, there is no room for manoeuvre. “It must be a personal motivation, not that of your relatives or your environment. It is a decision that implies that each person puts his or her activities there. The professional is going to help you with the objective, but it must be you who takes action and gets involved“, assures our specialist.

A double aspect: physical and psychological

Smoking is an addiction because it has a physical as well as a psychological component. Curiously, smoking is related to relaxation when really smoking is a stimulant. But we have related moments of relaxation to smoking.

“When we smoke while taking a break, our mind makes an association between smoking and relaxation, which is not real. Because nicotine has a physical component, it is like a drug, and you have to go through an abstinence syndrome, which lasts between one and a half and two months“, stresses Dr Laura Enciso.

Tobacco addiction has three components: physical (nicotine and receptors in the brain), psychological (association of the cigarette with moments of leisure or relaxation) and automatic (having something in your hand).

“In its approach, these three factors must be considered, and a process of re-education must be carried out. It doesn’t have to be a very long process, but you have to decide if you really want to quit the habit,” says our specialist.

A comprehensive approach with realistic objectives

When it comes to anti-smoking therapy, the first thing to do is a study of the smoker to assess how many cigarettes they consume a day, what their smoking routines are, when they smoke more, when they smoke less, which cigarette will cost them the most to quit…

“You have to do a little study of your day-to-day life. And then you have to set out your objectives and start to tackle them together. Obviously, they must be realistic goals,” warns Dr Laura Enciso.

The treatment is approached in a disciplinary manner with different professionals: the motivational coach establishes the objectives to be treated and then the assessment of the specialist in addiction problems and alternative therapies, such as yoga or meditation, must be taken into account. The coach supervises all this.

“The fundamental step in therapy is for the professional to make him/her aware of the addiction he/she is having both physically and psychologically“, summarises the specialist.

Anti-smoking treatments at SHA Wellness Clinic

The most important thing for stopping smoking is the strong will of the smoker. From that point on, putting yourself in expert hands will significantly help you to quit.

It is not so much a question of exposing what smoking entails (cancer, heart, vascular and chronic lung diseases) as of being aware of the physical and psychological benefits of a habit-free life.

Getting smokers to kick the habit is a major challenge. In our medical unit different treatments are combined to ensure not only that the patient leaves SHA without smoking, but also that he or she can overcome in their daily lives the situations that can cause them to acquire the habit again.